Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line 11×7 with nonstick foil.

2. In a mixer, beat the melted butter and sugars
together. Add egg, egg yolk, and vanilla. Slowly add all of the dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking soda) and mix on low. Add the chocolate chips.4. If you are using Kraft caramels, microwave them with heavy cream until smooth. 5. Divide your cookie dough in half. Press half into the pan and smooth it. Pour whichever caramel you are using on top. Lay peanut butter cups on top to cover the caramel. Drop scoops of dough over the peanut butter cups and spread to cover pb cups. 6.Bake for 30 minutes or until golden. Cool completely in the an before attempting to cut! Adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod

1 bag of Dove mini milk chocolate squares, unwrap one for each cookie you make.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment.Beat
butter and both sugars until well blended. Add in vanilla, egg and
yolk until light and creamy. Add in flour, salt and baking soda just
until incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips by hand. Chill if you have
time.Grab a nice scoop of dough and surround the chocolate candy so it is completely enclosed. Bake 11-14 mins. or until edges are browned and centers no longer look
wet. Cool completely on sheets.

I always find myself making them since they are my brothers favorite thing. He has come to expect them with every visit. And he visits pretty often. And I get bored doing the same recipe over and over again so I try out a new one every time he comes. The ultimate plan was to find my favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie that I could put my stamp of approval on and tote as “the best”. I decided I would try 5 of the biggest favorited recipes on the web:

And now that I have officially made them all, I can tell you which has won my heart…

Cooks Illustrated PERFECT Chocolate Chip Cookie!

Talk about a flavor explosion in your mouth. These cookies use browned butter to achieve the most delicious, caramelly flavor. One bite and I was hooked.

Truth be told, I didn’t make this decision lightly either. Each cookie was really very good. And it was a real toss-up between my three favorite: NY Times (posted here), Alton’s ”The Chewy”, and CI Perfect cookie. The only reason CI won out was because of the three they were the most convenient to make (recipe using only All-purpose flour, no bread flour) and offered the greatest depth of flavor. Not to mention it uses a melted butter method rather than a creaming method, which I think is quicker and easier.

That said, you should know that the NY TIMES chocolate chip cookies are incredible in their own right. If you have the bread flour and time to let the cookie dough sit 24 hours in the fridge…. you should definitely give them a go! They are worth the time to at least experience once.

Sift together the cake flour, bread flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a large bowl and set aside.

Cream together the butter and sugars on medium speed until very light, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition, then add the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low, gradually add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the chocolate chips.

Press plastic wrap against the dough and refrigerate for at least 24 hours, up to 72 hours.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat.

Scoop 3½-ounces of dough, roll into a rough ball (it should be the size of a large golf ball) and place on the baking sheet. Repeat until you have six mounds of dough on the cookie sheet. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer the parchment or silicone sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then transfer the cookies onto another cooling rack to cool a bit more, until just warm or at room temperature. Repeat with remaining dough (or keep some of the dough refrigerated for up to 3 days, and bake cookies at a later time). Store leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.